Morvern Callar (film)

Morvern Callar is a 2002 psychological drama film directed by Lynne Ramsay and starring Samantha Morton as the titular character. The screenplay, cowritten by Ramsay and Liana Dognini, was based on the 1995 novel of the same name by Alan Warner. The film received positive reviews from critics.

Plot
Morvern Callar is a young woman in a small port town in Scotland who works at a supermarket. She wakes on Christmas morning to discover that her boyfriend has killed himself, leaving her a suicide note, a mixtape, Christmas presents, money for a funeral and the manuscript of his unpublished novel. His novel is dedicated to Morvern, and she replaces his name with hers in the manuscript before sending it to the publisher recommended in his suicide note. Morvern does not contact authorities and leaves the dead body in place. She tells her best friend and coworker Lanna that her boyfriend has left her and moved abroad.

After several days, Morvern dismembers the body and buries it in the mountains. She cleans the flat to remove all of the blood and invites Lanna to live with her. Morvern receives a letter of interest from the book publisher and calls to tell them that they may reach her while she is on holiday in Spain. Lanna discloses to Morvern that she had slept with her boyfriend. Morvern is upset with Lanna but brings her to Spain, where they enjoy the nightlife.

At the hotel, Morvern meets a man whose mother has recently died, and she has sex with him. The next day, Morvern abruptly tells Lanna that they must leave the hotel. They travel to another town but become lost and must spend the night on a rural road. Lanna becomes exasperated with Morvern's bizarre behaviour, and in the morning, they part ways. Morvern meets with the publishers, who have travelled to Spain hoping to acquire the rights to the manuscript. Morvern continues to pretend that she has written the novel and accepts a £100,000 advance.

Back in Scotland with her £100,000 cheque, Morvern invites Lanna to accompany her back to Spain, but Lanna refuses because her life is in Scotland. Morvern collects her suitcase and proceeds to the railway station. In a nightclub, she listens to "Dedicated to the One I Love" from the mixtape that her boyfriend had left for her.

Cast

 * Samantha Morton as Morvern Callar
 * Kathleen McDermott as Lanna

Reception
Morvern Callar received positive reviews from critics. It holds a rating of 78/100 on Metacritic and an 84% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes based on 82 reviews, with an average score of 7.1/10. The critical consensus states: "Morton quietly makes this quirky, enigmatic mood piece a compelling watch."

At the 2002 Cannes Film Festival, the film premiered during the Directors' Fortnight, and it was awarded the Award of the Youth for Best Foreign Film. At the 2002 British Independent Film Awards, Morvern Callar received seven nominations, including Best Director for Ramsay, Best Screenplay for Ramsay and Dognini, and Most Promising Newcomer for Kathleen McDermott; Samantha Morton won the award for Best Actress. McDermott won the Best Actress Award at the 2002 BAFTA Scotland Awards.

The film has been cited as a favorite film by the band Beach House, who introduced it at the inaugural edition of Baltimore's New/Next Film Festival.

Writing for a film club hosted by Literary Hub, Rachel Kushner picked Morvern Callar as one of her favorite movies, calling it a "gritty and sublime mood portrait".

Soundtrack

 * 1) Can – "I Want More"
 * 2) Aphex Twin – "Goon Gumpas"
 * 3) Boards of Canada – "Everything You Do Is a Balloon"
 * 4) Can – "Spoon"
 * 5) Stereolab – "Blue Milk" (Edit)
 * 6) The Velvet Underground – "I'm Sticking with You"
 * 7) Broadcast – "You Can Fall"
 * 8) Gamelan – "Drumming"
 * 9) Holger Czukay – "Cool in the Pool"
 * 10) Lee "Scratch" Perry – "Hold of Death"
 * 11) Nancy Sinatra and Lee Hazlewood – "Some Velvet Morning"
 * 12) Ween – "Japanese Cowboy"
 * 13) Holger Czukay – "Fragrance"
 * 14) Aphex Twin – "Nannou"
 * 15) Taraf de Haïdouks – "Cînd eram la '48"